The Singing Scientist

Family cold

2012-01-25T10:09:00.000-05:00

It is no secret that toddlers stink at keep their germs to themselves. Ally has had a couple colds this winter, and of course, I have caught all of them too. The three of us are just now getting over one. Ally had the runny nose first and sure enough, Ben and I had runny noses a couple days later. I will not lie, the mucus output in our house was quite plentiful. Ally's and Ben's upper respiratory tracts have now cleared up, but mine is not quite there yet. I don't know if these sorts of infections hit you harder when you're pregnant, but I sure am looking forward to being able to smell and hear normally again.

Actually, I did find one positive aspect of having a cold. In my Physiology class last week, I was teaching my students about the parts of the brain, and I brought in a cadaver brain for show and tell. Of course, the thing had been preserved in formaldehyde, or whatever similar chemical they use these days, and so it had a pretty strong preservative smell. I am not a fan of that smell, and in my pregnant state, my gag reflex is a lot more sensitive than usual. But because I had a completely stuffed up nose, I couldn't smell a thing!

And in case you are wondering, yes, it is a little weird to hold a former person's brain in your hands. And yep, it is pretty squishy.

The data collection plugs along

2012-01-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

Not much excitement in the lab except that I keep plugging along with my data collection. It is at times tiring and stressful. Well, the actual data collecting part isn't bad, it's the part afterwards that can be a little tricky. I run all my blood samples on a flow cytometer to measure my NK cell proportions, and I'm never 100% sure if the machine will cooperate with me. Last Friday, the flow cytometer was not nice to me; maybe it sensed that it was Friday the 13th. But this morning, everything seemed to work fine. Maybe it was because my advisor tagged along (he was not familiar with flow cytometry), and so the machine sensed there was a guest and decided to behave.

I am definitely experiencing whatever version of "senioritis" corresponds with the final year of a PhD program. I am so ready to be done with this data collection because I really want to see the results. But I know that patience is the key here. Also, I think I am ready for a change, meaning that I am really looking forward to transitioning from Beth the doc student to Dr. Evans the faculty member. I hope to know something more on that front in the next month or so.

In the meantime, we keep plugging along. . .

The colon is a funny organ

2012-01-06T09:55:00.000-05:00

Last week, Ben's family came to visit. We had bunches of fun with a total of 13 people and 1 large dog in our house. Of course, the food was plentiful, and we took turns cooking meals. Ben's brother Paul made this really good bean dish that was kind of like baked beans with sausage and peppers in it. I do want to emphasize though that is was pretty heavy on the beans, and I'm not going to lie, several members of the family experienced some "outgassing" shall we say. You can't really talk about lower digestive system issues without it getting pretty funny, which brought to mind a column written by the humorist Dave Berry. It first appeared in 2008, and is about his experience getting his first colonoscopy. I have re-read it several times, and each time, I can't help but laugh. I am posting the link to his colonoscopy column here. Enjoy!

Major things I'm looking forward to this year

2012-01-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

In no particular order:

1. Graduating with my PhD
2. The arrival of Baby #2
3. The transition from graduate student to some sort of faculty-ish employment
4. The Olympics
5. The presidential election

Happy New Year!

Recent Fall Happenings

2011-12-03T22:19:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy month! Here are some of the highlights.

First, we had trick-or-treating on Halloween. Ally and I dressed up as princesses. She had a great time collecting candy from all our neighbors and can't wait to do it next year.

Second, attempt #2 at culturing my leukemia cells has gone well. They are alive and growing well.

Third, my dissertation data collection is finally underway. I tested 3 subjects last week, and I have subjects on the calendar to be tested all throughout December. If the pace keeps up, I could possibly finish my data collection early next semester.

Fourth, we had both sets of parents in town for Thanksgiving. Ally had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Gran-Gran.

Lastly, we had our 2nd trimester ultrasound yesterday. Baby #2 is growing right on schedule and looks healthy. And probably of most interest to everyone, Baby #2 is a girl! Now to the task of finding a name for this little one.

I Killed Cancer

2011-11-02T20:05:00.000-04:00

Apparently my lack of a green thumb regarding houseplant maintenance has followed me into the lab. I managed to completely wipe out my leukemia cell culture in only 2 passages. The culprit: bacterial contamination.

Now, to check my media for contamination and try this again...

Adventures with Bizarre Foods: Eating a Durian

2011-10-25T20:57:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite shows to watch on Netflix is Bizarre Foods. It is hosted by Chef Andrew Zimmern, and he travels all over the US and the world to try local cuisine. Many of the things he eats are really weird by American standards. For example, he has eaten many dishes with various creepy-crawlies. Also, many cultures eat other parts of the animal besides the regular muscle tissue, like heart, tripe, blood, stomach, tendon, brains, and both the male and female reproductive parts. Sometimes things are raw, and sometimes things are cooked. At first, Ben and I were kind of grossed out, but when Andrew explained that many of these ways of eating came out of necessity or poverty (i.e., eat what's hopping around your house and don't waste any part of the animal), we definitely gained a much better understanding and appreciation of how others eat, even if it is a bit odd.

When Andrew goes and samples all these foods, he is very up front about whether he thinks it tastes good or not. He admits that very few things in his travels have really grossed him out. However, there is one food that even Andrew Zimmern admits he cannot handle. It is not blood, brains, tongue, eyeballs, or fried tarantuals. Nope it is actually a fruit! The Durian fruit.

There is an Asian market that opened in our area less than a year ago, where they have several of the bizarre foods we've seen featured on Bizarre Foods. And as luck would have it, they carry the Durian fruit. Ben and I were really curious about this thing, I mean how could a fruit be that gross? So we took the plunge. We bought one.

Me pointing to the Durian. It weighs about 4 lbs and is really spiky.

We cut it open to reveal the pulp inside. The pulp is rather custard-like in texture, kind of like a very soft mango. It kind of comes in these separate compartments, each with a big seed. The Durian certainly smelled strong, but it wasn't too bad, more like a very very ripe papaya.

So after mulling it over with our eyes for a couple seconds, we took the plunge. Was Andrew Zimmern right or was he exaggerating???

Well, maybe a little of both. The first bite wasn't too bad. But the second and third bites were pretty gross. I'm really not sure how to describe it, but I think the closest I can come is EXTREMELY ripe mango or papaya that has also started to rot. It was sweet, but it was WAY too strong in flavor. So after about 3 bites each (Ally quit after 1 bite), we tossed it in the garbage. Actually, since the thing had become quite aromatic once we opened it up, I had to put it in the garbage can outside.

So although our experience with the Durian fruit was not terribly pleasant, we're still glad that we satisfied our curiosity. I'm sure that this food is an acquired taste, but we won't be acquiring it any time soon.

First Family 5K

2011-10-25T20:32:00.001-04:00

This past Saturday,Ben, Ally, and I took part in the Get Heeled 5K. The event was held to raise money for the Get REAL & HEEL Breast Cancer Program, which is housed in my department. The 5K attracted several hundred runners and walkers and ended up raising $75,000. This was the first 5K race that the three of us have done as a family, and my first race while pregnant. Actually, I use the term "race" pretty loosely here because while we all had race bibs, we didn't have race numbers or timing chips, so it was more of a fun run. After the 5K, we did a 1 mile family walk, and then sampled a lot of the free food provided by the event sponsors. Below are some pics of our day.

Ally and me with our jogging stroller. We loaded her in and pushed her while running the 5K. We have a race bib pinned to the stroller, which says "In Honor of Aunt Linda." When running events that sponsor cancer charities, it is pretty common to write "In Honor of. . ." or "In Memory of. . ." on your bib. We decided to run in honor of Ben's Aunt Linda, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and is now in remission.

One of the sponsors was Chick-Fil-A. Ally had to go say hi to the Chick-Fil-A cow. She even gave the cow a high five.

Team Evans

New milestones for Ally

2011-10-03T14:38:00.000-04:00

Ally is approaching 2.5 years old, and here are 3 new things that have entered her life, or will be in the near future.

1. She now sleeps in a big-girl bed.

2. She is nearly potty-trained. She is excellent with #1, but not quite there yet with #2. In fact, she wore big-girl underwear all day on Saturday with no accidents, even as we ran our errands outside of the house.

3. She is going to be a big sister. That's right folks, sometime around her 3rd birthday (early May), Ally will be greeted by the arrival of a new brother or sister.

Lab Flood #3

2011-09-22T13:46:00.000-04:00

No, this is not a joke. Right in the middle of the renovations for the flood that happened 2 weeks ago. At least this time, all the equipment was already covered.

Lab Flood #2

2011-09-13T11:41:00.000-04:00

That's right folks, the lab flooded again last week. Grrrrr.

I'm sure we'll all think this is hilarious a year from now.

Finally, IRB approval!

2011-09-01T12:47:00.001-04:00

After 3 months and submitting revisions to both the Cancer Center PRC and the Biomedical IRB, I now how approval to start data collection for my dissertation.

Next task, order supplies and practice my laboratory protocols. Much of this has been made much easier in the last week because I now have an Immunology PhD student who is teaching me how to do some procedures.

I slowly inch forward with this beast!

They're baaaaaaaack!

2011-08-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

The students are back on campus! The semester begins. . .

A common end-of-the-semester conversation

2011-08-12T08:35:00.001-04:00

This is a hilarious YouTube video displaying a parodied version of a student worried about his course grade. Ben and I both laughed pretty hard. If you've ever taught, particularly at the college level, you have probably had some version of this conversation with at least one student.

Where a pair of sunglasses could take you. . .

2011-08-03T13:13:00.001-04:00

Ally loves to wear her sunglasses. If she is wearing them in public, she almost always gets noticed for the movie-star appearance. Case in point:

This is Ally at Nana's 90th birthday party (photo taken by Uncle Jim). She kind of looks like she could be walking the red carpet. So work a little photoshop magic and you get this:

Look out world!

Fellow grad school friends: do you ever have those days where. . .

2011-07-29T13:53:00.000-04:00

you feel like you can't graduate fast enough? I am having a lot of those days.

A shout-out

2011-07-26T10:55:00.000-04:00

I want to send a shout-out to our friend Matt who is taking the NC Bar exam today and tomorrow. Go Matt! Kick some butt! We're praying for you!

Adventures in Maryland

2011-07-25T12:46:00.000-04:00

Last week, we went to visit Ben's brother and family in Maryland. Ally got to play with her cousin Simon who is also 2 years old, as well as Javi, the big black lab. I think she had a lot of fun with both of them. Here are a couple pics of Ally and Simon at Adventure Playground, where they kind of look like they could be hosting a talk show.

We also took a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. I had heard a lot of good things about it, and Ben had gone when he was younger and growing up around the area. Despite the crowds of people, we got to see some cool sea life. Ally's favorites were the blue crab, the sharks, and the sea turtle.

We did have one unanticipated adventure: a trip to the ER. Ally took a pretty serious tumble down a flight of stairs and got a large gash on her head and an abrasion on her back. But a couple hours, 11 stitches, and 2 popsicles later, she seemed to be back to her old self. Now she talks about how she fell down the stairs, got booboos on her head and back, that she cried when she got the stitches, and that she has to be careful on Simon's stairs.

La Fête Nationale

2011-07-14T12:44:00.000-04:00

I will start off with a disclaimer. I am not French. The closest I come to French in my blood is my French Swiss relatives on my dad's side. I think one of my cousins might be from Belgium but I'm not 100% sure. But I did take French from 7th-12th grade and I minored in it in college, and we did learn about French history and literature. So July 14th always comes to mind because it is Bastille Day, or La Fête Nationale. I would say the celebrations are probably pretty similar to our July 4th celebrations. And of course, it's not complete without listening to La Marseillaise, the French National Anthem. If you need to get yourself pumped up for something, just listen to it a few times; it is pretty rousing. Vive la France!

IRB approval, part 1

2011-07-13T10:57:00.000-04:00

I just got the approval letter from the IRB at the Cancer Center regarding my dissertation project. Now I will submit everything to the Biomedical IRB so they can review my project too (since I'm using both cancer patients and healthy people, I have to go through two IRBs, and the reviews have to be done consecutively). It took about a month and a half to get IRB approval from the Cancer Center, so hopefully the Biomedical IRB will be about the same.

In other news, our lab is finally getting cleaned up from the flood.

Quiet summer

2011-07-07T12:08:00.000-04:00

Summer has been quietly rolling along. Ben is working in his lab mentoring his two summer students and I am working in the vicinity of my lab writing a review paper. (The facilities crew still has not put our lab back together since the flood on May 27th, and my protocols are still in the hands of the IRB, so I can't do any dissertation work right now.) It is so nice though to have a relaxed schedule; we go in when we want and come home when we want and don't do any schoolwork once we're home. Therefore, we've been spending lots of family time together playing at the park, going out for ice cream, and scouting out the annual inventory sale at A Southern Season, or "Sample Time" as Ally calls it (for obvious reasons). But one of our favorite activities has been going swimming at the free community pool. I can't believe we did not figure out there was a free pool around here until this summer. It has been amazing. We go every Saturday morning with our friend Victoria and her 2-year old daughter (and Ally's best friend) Elaina. It is such an amazing way to beat the heat. I'll bet you're thinking, "Free pool, must be crowded." I was afraid of that too. But it is the opposite, at least in the mornings when we go. There is also a kiddie pool, so the girls can wade around without flotation assistance. And an unexpected but very much welcome bonus after the morning swim: a long nap!

Future ringer?

2011-06-14T22:50:00.000-04:00

Ally loves watching us play bells at Mass. On Saturday, she got a very front row seat as we played the postlude.

Flooded lab and a trip to Denver

2011-06-08T09:24:00.000-04:00

The last couple weeks have been interesting ones. I submitted the first round of IRB documents on Thursday the 26th. The deadline was actually the 27th, but I managed to get everything done and submitted a day early. It is a VERY good thing that I did because the next day (Friday the 27th), we had a major flood in the lab. The line of thunderstorms and torrential rain that came down was too much for our building's roof to handle, and our lab was one of several areas that flooded. I was in the lab by myself when the flood started, and it is a very odd sight to see a waterfall pouring from the ceiling. So that day was spent moving equipment out of the lab and trying to clean up as much water as possible. Here is a picture of me and one of my professors in one of our storage rooms that got flooded the worst (yes, I am playing with a rubber duckie!).

It was probably a good thing that the flood happened when it did; i.e., during the summer when no research projects are ongoing. Also, none of us were in the lab last week because we all went to the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, which was held in Denver this year. I had never been to a national ACSM meeting, so I was pretty excited to go. We all either presented a talk or a poster, which was fun, and I also tried to go to as many endocrinology, immunology, and cancer-related sessions as I could, as that is the focus of my dissertation. I met some new people, which you never know, could one day turn into a job or collaboration opportunity. It was also a good chance to hang out with people from my lab in a more relaxed environment as we shared meals or coffee together. I learned several other things too, like the word "nutriceutical" and that I am really bad at texting (texting is a good way to contact someone if you're not sure if they're in a session and you don't want to risk their phone ringing). And totally unrelated to science, but important when participating in air travel, I learned that it is a bad idea to drink lots of water during the flight and not visit the bathroom because once the captain turns on the seatbelt sign and starts the descent, you will find yourself in an extremely uncomfortable situation!

Does this bother anyone else?

2011-05-26T13:53:00.000-04:00

When you're in Microsoft Word and you're cutting and pasting from somewhere else and it decides to randomly autoformat your pasted selection and change the font. Drives me nuts!

I am preparing my IRB documents to submit for a deadline tomorrow, and I would really appreciate no more funny business from Word!

My conclusions about guilt and parenting

2011-05-24T16:14:00.000-04:00

Okay, despite the heading of this post, I am going to try and keep it fairly light and straightforward. Ben and I spent last weekend with his family in Portsmouth, VA, celebrating Nana's 90th birthday. It was a great time, and I think I have eaten enough cake to last me for a while. It was also great to chat with brothers- and sisters-in-law and let all the cousins play with each other (Ally is one of 5 Evans grandchildren and one of 6 Jackson great-grandchildren). After spending time with all the kids and watching them interact, I came to some conclusions.

As a mom, I have often fallen victim to "Mommy guilt." Over the past 2 years, my guilt has generally revolved around the issue of balancing the roles of working outside the home and being a mom. Is it okay that I don't want to be a full-time stay-at-home mom? Is it okay to want to attend a conference out of town for presenting research and networking? I have felt guilty for being required to teach an 8am class 3 days per week last semester and for being required to attend Doctoral Seminar in the fall which went until 5:45pm two days per week. I have wondered if being away from Ally from 8am-5pm during the week is a bad thing, and if we're going to pay for it somewhere down the road. But after this weekend, I came to some very important conclusions; some directly related to Ally and her cousins and most unrelated:

1. Guilt is self-inflicted. A person cannot "make" me feel guilty. Sure, a person can say something with the intention of inducing a guilt trip, but the decision to react with guilt is completely mine. If I have confidence in myself and my decisions, then I have no reason to feel guilty.

2. As far as I know, there is nothing in the Bible that says that a mom is absolutely never ever allowed to have a career outside the home. But rather, the choice to stay at home or work outside the home should be made prayerfully, with an open mind and heart, the willingness to be led in a direction I may have never considered, and the willingness to be flexible and understand that what I'm being called to do now may not necessarily be what I'm called to do in the future.

3. Kids' behavior is probably more related to their age, their personality, and how their parents handle them, and not because of whether one parent stays at home. We have friends and family who run the gamut here; some who stay at home full time, some who stay at home part time and some who work full time. One of my sisters-in-law stays at home full time; the other works part-time. I wouldn't say that their kids are necessarily better behaved than Ally or that Ally is necessarily better behaved than her cousins. We have friends with toddlers who are mellow and toddlers who throw temper tandrums at the drop of a hat, and their parents career/staying at home choices span both sides of the fence.

4. And when I'm feeling a moment of doubt, all I have to do is look at Ally. She is happy, sweet, laughs a lot, keeps up with her peers, easygoing, and one of the most agreeable toddlers that I know. That's my answer right there.

Dingalings

2011-05-24T14:39:00.001-04:00

A recent picture of us Chelsea Chimes handbell ringers, or as Fr. John calls us, the Dingalings

Random lesson learned

2011-05-17T13:31:00.000-04:00

Original flavor almond milk is very tasty on its own, but absolutely disgusting as a coffee creamer.

She's two!

2011-05-09T21:43:00.003-04:00

Some pics from Ally's 2nd birthday weekend, which we celebrated with my parents and some friends from church.

Enjoying our new deck, which Ben built entirely by himself.

Ben grilling on the new deck.

Victoria with Elaina and Ally.

Ally and Elaina, with Rebecca and Kate in the background.

I made birthday cake cones, which were enjoyed by all.

Ally, Grandma, and Grandpa.

Ally, Ben, and me.

Dissertation proposal-APPROVED

2011-05-05T10:58:00.000-04:00

This morning, I successfully presented the proposal of my dissertation project. My committee made a few suggestions but no major revisions. They have now signed off on it, and now the real fun begins!

The road to potty-training

2011-04-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

Now that Ally is approaching 2 years old (her birthday is next week!) she has achieved a lot of major milestones. She has been walking for over a year, she talks up a storm, she's got almost all her teeth, she can feed herself, climb into her car seat, and put on her shoes. And now, the newest skill she is working on is going to the bathroom in the potty. She first became interested in the potty probably around Christmas time, so we got a potty seat for her to try out. She liked to sit on it before bathtime, but generally nothing would happen, and if it did, it was probably just coincidence. But in the last few weeks, she has been wanting to use her potty more and more. She will even sometimes tell us that she needs to go to the bathroom, and most of the time she's right! I will be honest, I did not think that potty training was going to happen this early; I guess I always assumed age 2.5 or 3 was when kids got potty-trained. But I suppose every child is different. In any case, I think it is pretty cool that Ally wants to go in the potty because it is way less messy than changing diapers! One downside though; she is back to waking up before 7am because her full diaper bothers her. I guess that's to be expected though. Oh well, I guess it's bye-bye to diapers before long!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T14:29:00.000-04:00

Things I don't understand

2011-04-14T13:56:00.001-04:00

1. Skinny jeans
2. Wearing a strapless shirt or dress to class
3. Super-short shorts, dresses, and skirts
4. Wearing clothing that is 2 sizes too big or 2 sizes too small
5. Wearing clothing that does not flatter your figure
6. Women's clothing that looks like maternity clothing but really isn't
7. Any article of clothing that costs more than $50
8. Bright red lipstick
9. Covering the majority of the body in tatoos
10. Body piercings in places other than the ears and nose
11.Grunting while lifting weights
12. Not making sure the toilet is completely flushed when using a public restroom
13 1/2 % milk
14. Not following directions
15. Oversleeping for a 10:00 am class, especially on the day of an exam
16. How they cram so many fat and calories into fast food

Almost done

2011-04-11T09:36:00.000-04:00

Regarding my dissertation proposal document:

Chapter 1-Introduction: done
Chapter 2-Literature review: done
Chapter 3: Methods: insert stats section from the statistician

So just a few more paragraphs and the first complete draft of my dissertation proposal is done. Hopefully my advisor will let me know if I need to do any major revisions before I send it to the committee. This thing is long; cover to cover is near 100 pages. It's basically my dissertation minus the results and discussion, so there is comfort in knowing that the bulk of my dissertation has now been written.

Dissertation proposal date!

2011-03-24T13:54:00.000-04:00

Thursday, May 5th, 8am. Successful coordination of dissertation committee schedules achieved on the first try!

I could eat that

2011-03-23T13:50:00.000-04:00

One of the shows that Ben and I are enjoying on our Netflix "watch it instantly" queue is Bizarre Foods. It is hosted by a chef named Andrew Zimmern, and he travels all over the world to sample local cuisine. He is definitely right when he says that what is common in one country is quite exotic in another. I think I was a little taken aback when I first started watching the show, but then again, one of the first episodes I saw was people in southeast Asia eating fried tarantulas. Apparently though, they taste really good, and you eat them like a crab. The kids were flocking to them. I, however, would probably pass, as I am afraid of large spiders. But now after watching a bunch of episodes, I'm starting to think that some of the previously bizarre eats are looking kind of appetizing. Crickets sauteed with spices and vegetables? I think I could eat that. Crispy fried mealworms for a snack? They look just like little french fries, I think I could eat that too. Eyeballs, brains, heart, lungs, and digestive system parts? Hmm, I think I'll pass and stick with regular muscle tissue.

So many great things about Spring

2011-03-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

I love this time of year. The flowers are starting to bloom, the days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, the semester is half over, and Easter is approaching (i.e., good music making opportunities at church). But I think one of the best things about this time of year (and I believe my siblings-in-law will agree with me here) is NCAA basketball! March Madness is underway, and UNC just won its first ACC tournament game against Miami. Go Heels!

10 lessons I am reminded of. . .

2011-03-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

as I develop my dissertation project and about research in general:

1. Everything always takes way longer than you initially think.
2. You are often at the mercy of other people's schedules.
3. Your project is the most important thing. . to you (i.e., not necessarily to others).
4. You will read many articles. Then you will re-read them multiple times.
5. The literature summary table will save you an incredible amount of time when constructing your lit review.
6. Don't re-invent the wheel; looking at other people's dissertations is very helpful when organizing your chapters.
7. Consult with a statistician.
8. Your advisor and committee members know a lot, but they don't know everything. You may end up having to educate them on a thing or two. In my case, that thing is using flow cytometry to measure NK cell counts and activity.
9. It is incredibly important to have very clear research questions, as they will drive the formulation of your hypotheses, study variables, and design.
10. Sometimes a figure is a great way to go when describing a concept.

I'm sure I'll think of more as I continue chipping away at this beast!

New home and office furniture

2011-02-16T09:52:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Ben and I purchased a new dining table. It replaces the 38-year old table that my parents got when they first got married, but got passed to us when we got married (they also had a new dining table and did not need it anymore). The old table new lives under our guest bed, to be brought out when we have the whole family over like at last year's Thanksgiving. Ben and I are loving our new table, as we can comfortably seat 8 people around it, and if people have especially small backsides, it might even seat 10.

I also acquired a new piece of office furniture; a nice big whiteboard. It is awesome. I have already used a good bit of it to write out my conceptual models for my dissertation. I feel so scientific now, as every good (and slightly nerdy) scientist needs access to a personal whiteboard.

Offensive behavior

2011-02-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

Apparently, it is quite offensive to assist a toddler with an activity (i.e., putting on shoes, buckling the top part of the carseat, walking up or down stairs, etc.) if she has not explicitly asked for your help. The toddler considers this assistance even more offensive if she is tired, and her response will be quite emotional in nature. Additionally, the toddler must often be given a few minutes to "emotionally prepare" for some activities, such as mealtime, bathtime or leaving a friend's house. To not allow her that period of preparation could also be taken as offensive.

Lab happenings

2011-02-03T11:09:00.000-05:00

Just a little while ago, the professors and most of the grad students in my lab left for a regional conference. I decided to stay behind, 1) because I am not presenting anything this year, and 2) to get some schoolwork done. It is going to be a VERY quiet next couple days in the lab, which will hopefully be conducive to productivity on my part.

Considering the figurative sense of the word "quiet", things are also quieting down in our lab because we just finished a faculty search. Over the past 3 weeks, a lot of us have been busy with giving tours to the candidates, going to their teaching and research presentations, and sharing meals with them. Hopefully we'll find out soon which of them is accepting the job.

My time this semester so far has been spent starting on the literature review chapter of my dissertation, investigating prices of ELISA assays that I might end up using (one word: EXPENSIVE), looking for small dissertation grants to apply for to fund said ELISA assays, and meeting with dissertation committee members to discuss my project ideas with them. I have the last of those meetings on Monday, so after that, I anticipate that I'll be able to solidify my research questions and proceed from there.

Scatterbrain

2011-01-26T14:39:00.000-05:00

I get on the bus yesterday afternoon at 4pm like I always do. Then halfway home, it hits me like a lightning bolt: I drove my car to campus! Needless to say, Ben was a little surprised when he and Ally came home a few minutes after I did and found me in the kitchen but no car in the driveway.

So I have a sticky note on my computer today to remind me to drive home.

The art of conversation

2011-01-26T13:44:00.000-05:00

I recently read a great post on one of the blogs I follow; you can read it here. The topic is about teaching children how to converse with others, and I thought it was a good one for those of us with little ones to keep in mind as they grow older and begin to learn how to have a conversation with others. I think it was a challenge to me too, to examine how I converse with others. Am I always the one talking and trying to tell my stories and my opinions? Do I really listen to the other person when they are talking? Do I fall into an "interview-style" conversation where I answer the other person's questions but don't inquire about how the other person is doing and what is going on with them? Being that I am Ally's example, if I want her to one day learn how to converse properly with others, I need to practice good conversation skills myself. It is some good food for thought.

It has begun. . .

2011-01-21T13:34:00.000-05:00

the writing of the dissertation; the final event of my PhD career. Before I begin collecting data, I have to write and present a dissertation proposal, which is basically the first 3 chapters of the dissertation (intro, lit review, methods) and then get IRB approval. I have started with the lit review chapter, which I can chip away at piece by piece as I wait to meet with all my committee members to discuss the ideas I have in mind for the methods. Once I get some preliminary feedback from my committee, then I can proceed to write my intro and methods.

I have waited and worked a LONG time to get to this point, and I am really glad I'm here. I have a LOT of work ahead of me, but I feel ready for this.

Bizarre foods

2011-01-12T13:57:00.000-05:00

Lately, Ben and I have been watching episodes of Bizarre Foods on Netflix. Last night, we ate a $6.00 lobster from Kroger. As I munched on a slightly tough piece of lobster tail meat, with the lobster's beady eyes staring at me, many of the episodes flashed in fast forward through my head. Not to mention that Ben managed to locate the lobster's digestive tract and proceeded to investigate it's stomach contents.

I am half-heartedly thinking of becoming vegetarian.

End of another semester

2010-12-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

It is so good, once again, to be on semester break. To have 3 weeks with no schoolwork to do is so amazing. Only in academics do you get such perks. These 3 weeks will involve taking a couple trips to visit family and friends for the holidays, relaxing, playing with my new iPod touch, drinking hot chocolate, just being Ally's mom, and doing whatever else we feel like doing to pass the time. Here are just a few accomplishments from this semester, as well as some reasons that I am particularly glad that this semester is over.

1. Passing my PhD comprehensive exams
2. Forming my dissertation committee
3. No more late-night teaching for Ben
4. No more late-night lecture writing sessions for either me or Ben
5. A break from the never-ending barage of emails in our inboxes

And now, to find some hot chocolate. . .

Ally's Presidential Campaign Slogan

2010-12-11T21:22:00.001-05:00

Remember in the 2008 presidential election how Barack Obama had the slogan "Yes We Can!"? Well, here is Ally's version:

Developing skills and personality

2010-12-10T10:54:00.001-05:00

Ally is now starting to talk in sentences with more than 2 words. She doesn't have a huge repetoire yet, but here are the recurring ones:

I do that. (when she wants to do something all by herself)
Sit down. (spoken as a command)
I love you.
I miss you.
I see you.
I read book.

We are also noticing that Ally is developing a long-term memory. Maybe she has had long-term memory for a while, but she is now able to express events or people from the past. For example, in my previous post about Ally's love for raw fish, she actually ate the sushi on a Tuesday night, but asked about eating sushi on Wednesday and Thursday nights too. Another example: Ben's whole family came to visit for Thanksgiving, and Ally got to play with her cousins. Almost every day since then, she mentions something about her big cousins Isaac and Ethan. I guess there is a lot of stuff going on in that little head of hers!

I must say that one thing I am very thankful for is Ally's personality. She is a very happy and easygoing toddler (for now anyways). I don't even remember the last time I had to put her in time-out. I feel like right now, most potential points of conflict can be handled either with giving her choices or giving her fair warning about order of events. "Do you want to eat cereal or oatmeal?" "Do you want to wear this dress or that dress for church?" "We're going to read 1 more book and then it's bathtime." She is not terribly keen on sharing (but what toddler is), and she does not appreciate it when another toddler tries to take something she is playing with. But honestly, I don't particularly like it when someone takes my stuff either, so that's understandable.

Who knew...?

2010-12-02T21:31:00.000-05:00

that my 1.5 year old would like sushi. And I don't mean the california rolls; I mean the raw fish. Ben brought home some sushi on Tuesday for dinner for my birthday, and Ally asked about sushi again last night and tonight. Funny, isn't it?!

31 Today

2010-11-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

I don't feel old enough to be in my "early thirties." I guess that goes to show that age is just a number.

More overdue photos

2010-11-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

Here are some more overdue pics from last month-Halloween and my parents' visit.

Trick-or-treating: Elaina and Victoria, and Ally and me. It was the girls' first trick-or-treating experience. I'll bet they thought it was kind of weird walking up to random people's houses and collecting candy (little do they know that in a few years, they will think this is awesome).

Minnie Mouse and UNC cheerleader on our front steps.

I even dressed up too, as an astronaut. I'm wearing my old flight suit from Space Camp 1997.

Ally loves to have books read to her, so here begins a series of photos of her being read to; first by Ben

Then with my mom.

Next with me.

And lastly with my dad, whom Ally now calls Pa-Pa.

Family photo.

Ally took a shine to my dad's LSU hat. They got her to say "Go Tigers!"

We also visited Andy and Michelle's farm, which we hadn't done in about 6 months. Since then, they have had some animal turnover, with sheep, chicken, and duck comings and goings, and unfortunately the passing of dear Linus the Beagle last Easter. Here's Ally meets one of their new dogs, a rather large and jovial Anatolian Shepherd named Basil.

Ally admires a lop-eared rabbit.

Petting said lop-eared rabbit.

I couldn't resist a cuddle with Abe, the other Anatolian Shepherd.

At the park near our house, swinging on the swingset.

Numbers, Letters, Shapes, and Sentences

2010-10-17T21:54:00.000-04:00

One of Ally's favorite toys is her shape-sorter. We actually have two of them; one that belonged to me when I was little, and the Tupperware shape-sorter that looks like a ball and has 10 shapes to sort (one of my fabulous E-bay finds). She has gotten pretty good at picking up a shape and finding its appropriate slot, although more intricate shapes like the pentagon and hexagon are still challenging.

Also, Ally is very much into numbers and letters. She likes to play with her letter fridge magnets as well as the letters that stick to the sides of the bathtub when they get wet. She knows the letter "O" and enjoys the alphabet song. She also likes to point out letters on clothing, particularly the letters on my University of Kentucky t-shirt.

Ally also counts to 10 in both English and Spanish. But apparently she does not believe that certain numbers exist. Here is her sequence in English:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10

And in Spanish:

1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10

Evidently, 7 and 9 do not exist in English, and 5, 6, 7, and 9 don't exist in Spanish.

And to finish, Ally said her first inteligible sentence the other day that consisted of more than 2 words. I accidentally spilled my drink at the dinner table, which Ally observed and said, "Mommy no-no agua." It was pretty cute.

Long overdue cabin photos

2010-10-10T22:50:00.001-04:00

Last month, we took a weekend trip to Boone with our friends Matt and Victoria and their almost-2-year-old daughter Elaina. It was a much needed weekend getaway, from both the hot weather and our usual surroundings. We stayed in a cool mountain cabin, cooked our own food, went on several nature hikes, and soaked in a hot tub after Ally and Elaina went to bed for the night. Additionally, Ben and Matt challenged each other to a series of ping-pong matches, in which I believe Matt was the overall winner. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Victoria pointing out a huge waterfall. This particular hike was pretty strenuous in that there was a lot of unsure footing (not ideal if there are toddlers in tow). Ben and Victoria did this part of the hike themselves while Matt and I stayed behind with the girls.

Matt, Victoria, and Elaina at another waterfall.

Ben, me, and Ally with a small waterfall in the background.

The two families.

Me and Ally. What transpired after this shot was that Ally accidentally sat down in a very large puddle of water and consequently had to do the return trip in soaking wet socks and shoes with no pants. She did not seem to mind too much.

Me and Ally after eating lunch on a rock in the middle of a stream.

Ally and Elaina. They are doing very typically girly things here-Ally is browsing though an issue of People Magazine while Elaina admires herself in her mommy's flip-flops.

Ally and Elaina in a big chair.

10K race

2010-10-04T10:44:00.000-04:00

I ran the Carrboro 10K on Saturday, my first race since April 2008. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was perfect. I did set a 10K PR, but only by 3 seconds. Still, a PR is a PR. I am already looking forward to training for another race; maybe something in the spring.

Science terms that don't sound so scientific

2010-09-30T11:09:00.000-04:00

It is pretty apparent that every profession has its own set of jargon; science and medicine being no different. And I will admit, I do occasionally have fun throwing around phrases like VO2max, gluconeogenesis, lymphocytopenia, and respiratory exchange ratio. But I have noticed that there are some scientific phrases that, well, don't really sound all that scientific. These below all happen to come from astronomy:

Big Bang
Theory of Everything
Dark Matter
Black Hole
Red Giant
Redshift
Brown Dwarf

In the astronomers' defense though, at least they are using terms that actually directly tell you what they are talking about. Maybe this is because astronomers are more "down to earth?" (rimshot)

I know, I know, bad pun! But I couldn't resist!

I'll bet my other scientist friends out there can think of some science terms that don't sound so science-ish (if so, leave me a comment!). A good follow-up post might be "Science terms that would make good band names."

I made the committment. . .

2010-09-21T21:30:00.000-04:00

to run the Carrboro 10K on October 2nd. I just pressed the send button for the registration site. It will be my first road race since April 2008. I had been going back and forth about whether I wanted to do it, because part of me has been wanting to run a race for a while, but the other part of me wasn't sure because I don't want to post a bad time (I mean, if I'm going to pay an entry fee, I want it to be worth it). However, I started increasing my mileage again a few weeks ago and added tempo runs back in, and what do you know, it has been going better than I expected. I last ran this particular race 3 years ago, so I'd love to improve my time and set a new 10K PR. We'll see how it goes; if anything, it will be a lot of fun to be amidst the racing atmosphere, go for a nice run with a bunch of other runners, and chow down on post-race goodies afterwards.

PhD comprehensive exam-Part 2; DONE

2010-09-21T12:34:00.000-04:00

Today, I turned in my grant which comprises Part 2 of my comps. I am sure my committee will rip it to shreds, but I really don't care right now. I'm just glad I don't have to think about it anymore, as it has been stewing at the back of my mind for the last month.

I'm supposed to get some general feedback on my grant and my written test next Friday so that I can start preparing for my oral exam. In the meantime, schoolwork keeps rolling along.

Good luck 2nd years!

2010-09-09T21:33:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, the 2nd year exercise physiology masters students in my department are taking their written comprehensive exam. I'm sure they will kick butt.

As for me, I will be stuck in PhD comps limbo until after my oral exam next month. I am starting to wonder if there is life after comps. I think it might be called "dissertation."

PhD comprehensive exam-Part 1; DONE

2010-08-23T09:48:00.000-04:00

Last Friday, I took my written comprehensive exam. It was a LONG exam, and I am really glad it is over with. My morning questions took 4 hours to complete, then I had a 1 hour lunch break, and then my afternoon questions took 4.5 hours to complete. So 8.5 hours and 24 typed pages later (1.5 spacing), my brain was definitely mush. But it was so nice to have the weekend to recover, as I did not do any studying. Now, it's back to the grind, as classes start tomorrow, and I will receive my grant topic to complete for Part 2 of my comprehensive exam. Even with all the craziness and business of school, it is really nice to feel like I am progressing forward in my PhD program.

Crunch time

2010-08-09T12:36:00.000-04:00

My PhD comps are getting close; less than 2 weeks away. I think I need a Faraday cage-like object to put over my head so that the brain waves that carry my exercise physiology knowledge don't escape.

Ethical dilemma?

2010-07-26T14:38:00.001-04:00

Is it unethical for a vegetarian to eat a carnivorous plant?

Feared medical procedures

2010-07-16T15:03:00.000-04:00

Last night, I caught most of a show on ABC called "Boston Med." It's one of those reality hospital shows, kind of like "Trauma, Life in the ER," or those similar-type shows that run on TLC and Discovery Health a lot. I do like watching medical shows, as the cases can be really interesting. Last night, one of the patients featured was a teenage girl that was getting a heart transplant.

I thought, "wow, that sounds like just about the scariest surgery anyone could every have." I mean, let's think about what happens here. They cut you open, they hook you up to a heart-lung machine, they TAKE OUT YOUR HEART, they stick a new one in there, they reattach stuff, and hopefully the new heart starts beating again, and I guess at that point they disconnect you from all the machines. I mean, I know people survive these procedures on a regular basis, but still, for a little while there, YOU DON'T HAVE A HEART. It's like you're kind of not all the way alive. Yikes!

Next to a heart transplant, open heart surgery sounds pretty scary to me too. Again, lots of people survive open heart surgery and bypass surgery. I personally know several people who have had this procedure. But still, for a while there, YOUR HEART IS NOT BEATING. I mean, there is a possibility that you might not be here after the procedure if your heart doesn't restart.

Okay, so I really really hope I never have to have heart surgery. But there is one other surgery I really really hope I never have to have either. Brain surgery. The idea of someone opening up my skull and rooting around in there is just weird. Okay, I know they don't actually "root around" as they have finely calibrated instruments and microscopes and stuff. But still, you have to admit that it's still a bit scary.

Okay, so those are pretty big medical procedures, and honestly, I don't think I'm scared of anything else, medical-procedure-wise. But seriously, even a trip to the dentist can be a terrifying experience for some.

So out of curiosity, what are your feared medical procedures?

Bowser vs. Mario (and Luigi). And the winner is. . .

2010-07-06T11:25:00.000-04:00

Mario (and Luigi). We finally did it. Last night, we got up the courage to beat Bowser in the final castle of World 8 in the new Super Mario Wii game. We had attempted this a few weeks ago, but we kept dying in hot lava, so we left it alone for a while in order to collect the remaining star coins in the lower worlds. But last night, about the only thing left for us to do was to defeat Bowser. I will admit, we were a little nervous about it at first. But it only took 3 tries to send Bowser to his demise in a sink hole of hot lava. Our next endeavor is to make it through the secret World 9, although unfortunately the only prize for making it through World 9 is personal satisfaction.

An interesting side note: If you look around on Ebay and Amazon, you can find a great many of the characters and charms from Super Mario in plush form, and some for very cheap. Seriously, you could probably buy all of the Super Mario cast for a very small sum of money and stage your own Super Mario adventure (maybe something to keep in mind as children's presents for birthdays and holidays in the future). Also, when you see Bowser as a 10 inch tall plush figure, he doesn't seem so scary; in fact, he's almost cute!

My new favorite dog breed

2010-06-22T20:08:00.000-04:00

Bernese Mountain Dog! Don't they just look so sweet and cuddly? It is unfortunate that their average life span is only like 6-8 years.

Preparing for comps. AGAIN!!!

2010-06-18T14:42:00.000-04:00

If you go back into my blog archives, you will see that many of my posts from July-September, 2007, talk about my preparations for the comprehensive exam that I had to take for my master's degree. Well, now I get to do the whole thing over again, this time in preparation for my PhD comprehensive exams.

My PhD comps are a little different from my masters comps from 3 years ago. My masters comps entailed a 6-hour written exam that covered exercise physiology, sports nutrition, and statistics. My PhD comps will be in 3 parts: a 6-hour written exam, a grant proposal, and an oral exam. The written exam will actually be quite similar to the one I did for my master's comps, but instead of being tested on a wide variety of exercise physiology topics, I will only be responsible for topics relating to metabolism, the endocrine system, and the immune system (but I'll have to know those topics really well!). Additionally, since my specific area of interest is the effect of aerobic exercise on physiological functioning in cancer patients, there will be a section on the written exam with questions pertaining to that area. Once I turn in my written exam, I will then have 3 weeks to write a grant, in the format of a NIH-RO3 grant. My committee then grades my written exam and my grant, and if they have any questions about anything I wrote, or if they would like me to clarify any of my answers, I will then have the opportunity to do that during the oral exam.

We have already set a date for my written exam: August 20th. That would make my grant due on September 10th, and then my oral exam would be shortly after that. So basically, the next 2-3 months will be all about comps. Once that fun is over, then it's on to dissertation fun!

We got a Wii

2010-06-04T10:29:00.000-04:00

Yep, we finally did it. We bought a Wii. We bought a used Wii, so it was quite a bit cheaper than what one would pay for a new one. Since Ally goes to bed around 7-7:30pm, we kind of have to stay home at night, and our options for entertaining ourselves (in the absence of schoolwork) were to either watch TV or read; neither of which are terribly interactive. But now with our Wii, we can play games together. Last night, Ben and I challenged each other to 9 holes of golf, a game of bowling, tennis, and baseball (the Wii sports game that comes with the Wii). We ordered the new Super Mario Bros game for Wii, so we're excited for that one to come in so we can play it together.

My current reading list

2010-05-27T14:13:00.000-04:00

1. Runner's World magazine
2. The Happiest Toddler on the Block, by Dr. Harvey Karp
3. I'll Mature when I'm Dead, by Dave Barry
4. Peer-reviewed articles about immune system responses to various levels of aerobic exercise intensity

Ally's first birthday party

2010-05-17T19:50:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday (Mother's Day), we had a small birthday party for Ally. She shared it with two of her fellow 1-year old friends, Elaina and Miriam, as well as her godparents (Jim, Victoria, and Matt), Miriam's parents Andy and Michelle, and my parents. Since Ally's birthday is the day before Cinqo de Mayo, we served tacos and fajitas with all the fixings, and I made a dulce de leche birthday cake for Ally. A good time was had by all. Here are some pics from the weekend.

The birthday cake

Ally and Grandpa

Ally getting ready to blow out her birthday candle

Ally eating birthday cake.

Ally opens her present from Andy, Michelle, and Miriam-Veggie Tales!

Ally and Elaina

A present from Matt, Victoria, and Elaina-beach/pool toys!

Taking a bath after the big day

Me and Ally

Ally and Grandma

Ally sits at a table and chair set that belonged to me when I was little

Ally is 1 year old!

2010-05-04T21:07:00.000-04:00

Today is Ally's first birthday. In some ways, I can't believe the year has already gone by, but in other ways I can't believe that it's ONLY been a year! To do a little "then and now" comparison, here are a few pics from May 4th-ish 2009, and May 4th-ish 2010.

Me, 40 weeks pregnant, and 1 week before Ally was actually born (remember that I was induced at 41 weeks)

Me, this past Easter, 11 months post-partum. I returned to my pre-pregnancy weight fairly quickly (thank you genetics, running, and nursing!), and all my pre-pregnancy clothes fit like they used to

Ally, right after coming home from the hospital

Ally as a 1-year old

Here are some more pics of her opening her first round of birthday cards and presents from her aunts and uncles.

You know it's going to be a hard final exam when

2010-04-27T21:45:00.000-04:00

The first page of your in-class, closed-book cancer pathobiology final asks you to describe the functions for each gene in a list of cancer-related genes. Have you seen how genes are named? It's like alphabet soup! Okay, a couple make sense, like how BRCA 1&2 are associated with breast cancer, but when a gene looks something like p18MSH2q&*#$!, it is not inherently obvious what cancer that gene is associated with or what it does.

The second essay question on your in-class, closed-book cancer pathobiology final asks, "Who gets cancer and why? (worth 20 points). Oh, where to begin. . .

There are no "choices" for essay questions on your in-class, closed book cancer pathobiology final. If remembering the difference between oncogene addition and non-oncogene addiction and which types of cancer treatments go with each one is not something that you spent a whole lot of time studying, oh well.

The point values of all the questions add up to ~150 points (i.e., it's a long test).

A tongue twister

2010-04-22T20:31:00.000-04:00

From my cancer pathobiology class:

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer

Say that one five times fast! But if you can't even say it once all the way through, you can just call it HNPCC.

Sold the condo

2010-04-17T13:33:00.001-04:00

On Thursday, we had the closing for our former residence, our little 1170-ish square-foot condo. We sold it to a very nice young couple who has a baby about Ally's age. We are happy that we can pass it on to a first-time homeowner, as it was our first home purchase too, over 6 years ago. Before the closing, Ben and I went over there one last time to make sure everything was as it should be (electricity on, fridge running, etc) We were a little nostalgic, as we remembered all the home improvement project we did: painting bathrooms and our bedroom, installing two tile floors, and the concrete countertop that Ben built for the half-bath. So goodbye, little condo, you were a great place and you served us well!

Easter pics

2010-04-08T21:26:00.000-04:00

Walking baby!

2010-04-08T20:54:00.000-04:00

Today, Ally took her first set of unassisted steps! I guess she is now officially leaving babyhood behind and is entering toddlerhood. Hard to believe. Here is a short video to capture her newest skill.

It actually does happen!

2010-03-29T10:18:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been to a restaurant, and maybe somewhere up near the front, there is a bowl where you can drop in your business card and enter to win a free meal? I have never done such a thing, mainly because I do not have a business card, but also I don't usually think that I would actually win such a free meal even if I did enter. Well luckily my friend Victoria took that chance and she ended up winning dinner for 10 at Chipoltle. So last night, our small group feasted on healthy Mexican food for free! Thanks Victoria, and thanks Chipoltle!

Favorite things

2010-03-15T20:08:00.000-04:00

On another blog I read (the Mouro Family), Laura the mom asked her 5 oldest kids to name their 10 favorite things. It was fun to read them, and I started thinking about 10 of my favorite things. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Frozen yogurt
2. Any hot drink (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, etc.)
3. Diet coke
4. Cozy things (pajamas, blankets, socks)
5. Running
6. Big furry dogs
7. Semester break
8. Hanging out with friends
9. Ben
10. Ally

Okay, okay, I have more than 10 favorites!!! I can't help it! So here are my bonus favorites:

1. Playing music (ringing handbells, playing oboe, and singing), especially if I'm part of an ensemble
2. Seeing family over the holidays
3. Advent/Christmas
4. Scented candles

What are some of your favorite things? Leave me a comment!

Changing tastes

2010-03-09T19:49:00.000-05:00

On my bus ride to and from school, I usually do some kind of light reading. Lately, I have been catching up on my backlog of Runner's World magazines. In several of the issues, there is this one page for a hotel ad, and it features a picture of someone cooking an omelet. This omelet picture always catches my eye and I find myself staring at it and salivating, either because I'm really hungry at the time or because all the ingredients look so fresh and tasty. So today I decided to do something about it: I made a large omelet for dinner. It had tomatoes, red onions, cheese, bell pepper, broccoli, and sausage. It was darn good. Ben and I ate it up, and Ally seemed to enjoy the bits and pieces we gave to her.

Okay, so this sounds pretty normal; nothing too weird and crazy about an omelet. However, it was only a couple years ago that I would have turned my nose up at an omelet. Now I am not a picky eater, but throughout most of my life, there were 4 foods that I absolutely would not touch. They were:

1. Eggs in any form
2. Mushrooms
3. Avacados
4. Canned beets

I didn't like eggs or mushrooms because they tended to smell funny when cooked and they had sort of a rubbery texture, and I didn't like the taste of beets or avacados. But over the last few years, I have had several of these foods prepared in different ways and I am now accepting of them.

1. Eggs: if you put a lot of stuff on them, they don't taste, smell, or feel so "eggy." I particularly like cheese on my eggs. Also, we only buy the free range eggs, and I think they taste a lot better and don't have that rubbery texture or weird sulfur smell when cooked.

2. Mushrooms: I have to credit my friend Jim Hynes for turning me back towards liking mushrooms. We were at his house about 6 years ago for dinner and he made Boeuf Bourguignon, which of course had mushrooms in it. I remember thinking when I was eating it, "Oh boy, there sure are a lot of mushrooms in this sauce, but I don't want to seem rude by picking them out, so I'll just suck it up and eat them." What do you know, the sauce actually made them taste okay. After that, I was like, "Hmm, maybe if I cook the mushrooms with a lot of other stuff, they won't be so mushroomy." This theory worked. We now use mushrooms in a lot of our stir-frys. We like portabellos and the exotic mushroom blends (shittake, oyster) the best. I will be honest though, I am not a fan of canned mushrooms, as they are a bit too rubbery, and sometimes those button mushrooms still smell weird when cooked.

3. Avacaodoes: Guacamole. It's my new favorite condiment.

I still can't stomach those canned bright red beets though. I tried them again about 2 years ago, and I still think they taste really gross. Ah well, 3 out of 4 isn't bad.

Frozen solid

2010-03-04T21:47:00.000-05:00

In our physiology lab, we store blood and saliva samples in a large freezer, set to -80 degrees C. Have you ever stuck your hand or arm inside a -80 degrees C freezer? I am learning that it is best to 1) know what you're looking for and 2) have a general idea of where it is located in the freezer before you go rooting around because it is FREAKING COLD in there!!!

Winter Olympics Fun

2010-03-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

Ben and I spent a good portion of our evenings over the last couple weeks watching the Winter Olympics while doing schoolwork. I have to say that I love the Olympics, both summer and winter. Watching all of the different sports prompted our discussion of which sports would we want to participate in if we could be Winter Olympians? They sort of fell into 2 categories: sports we'd like to do if we devoted the time to train for them and sports we could do if the USOC called us up on a moment's notice and said, "Hey, you're on the Olympic team." Here are our picks:

Sports we would do on a moment's notice:
-Curling (is it really that hard? I don't even think you have to be in shape to do this either.)
-Person 2 or 3 of a 4-man bobsled team (what exactly are they doing in the sled?)

Sports we would do if we devoted several years to training:
-Ben's picks: snowboard cross and snowboard half-pipe (pretty flashy and high-flying)
-Beth's picks: cross-country skiing, either short-track or long-track speed skating, ice dancing, or figure skating (xc skiing and speed skating because the training would probably be similar to distance running or track running, and the ice skating because I have always liked skating. Of course, I'd choose Ben as my ice-dancing or pairs partner!)

Sports that neither of us are really crazy about doing:
-skeleton
-luge
-downhill skiing (they all involve hurling yourself down a steep incline at a lot of miles per hour and risk major injury)

What Winter Olympics sports would you choose?

A side note: I found out that there is a group that does curling in our area. One of the former PhD students from my program (a Canadian) who is a visiting faculty in my department suggested that someone organize a curling outing sometime. If it happens, I will definitely have to check it out and report back.

Nine months old!

2010-02-04T21:17:00.000-05:00

Today, Ally turns 9 months old. It is hard to believe that only now has she been out in the world for the same amount of time that she was in my belly, as the latter definitely feels longer than the former! She had her 9 month well-baby checkup at the pediatrician's office this morning. Ally is 27.5 inches in height and 16 lbs 6 oz in weight, which puts her in the 50th percentile in height and 10-25th percentile in weight. This would explain why she always outgrows her clothes lengthwise. Her development is right on track, and right now her specialty seems to be her gross motor skills and saying lots of "Da Da."

Here are some recent pics, and yep, we got snow last weekend!

Emerging from the pile of boxes

2010-01-19T21:21:00.001-05:00

A week ago, we moved into our new house! I am LOVING it! We have so much more room, it is amazing. Here are some of my favorite things about our new place:

1. The open floor plan (kitchen is open to the family room).
2. Built-in bookshelves in the family room.
3. Lots of counter space in the kitchen.
4. New front-loading washer and dryer that play a song when the laundry is finished.
5. Fenced back yard.
6. The bus passes in front of our house, so I can still take the bus to school.
7. Just around the corner from a bike/walking/running trail that leads into town.

We also bought a jogging stroller off Craigslist, so now all 3 of us can go for a run together (looks like I have no excuse not to go for a run now!). The past week has been spent unpacking boxes and moving the last of our things out of the condo. Once we give the condo a thorough cleaning, we will list it for sale.

They're everywhere!

2010-01-14T15:34:00.000-05:00

I am taking a cancer pathobiology class this semester, and we've started the class talking about things that can cause cancer. I am now feeling like the carcinogens are everywhere! My first thought was, well I'll just go move up to a mountain top that's above all the pollutants in the atmosphere and I'll eat all natural and organic foods with no processing, pesticides, or preservatives, and I'll be all calm and stress-free and all. That would take care of it right? Wrong! I forgot about the sunlight! And with less atmosphere up on the mountain, those UV rays would be coming in pretty strong! Well, I guess the lesson to be learned is that you just avoid what you can and don't worry about the rest.

Pictures from Christmas

2010-01-04T11:55:00.001-05:00

We spent Christmas in New Orleans this year with my family. We had a great time seeing everyone that we hadn't seen in 2 years. Additionally, it was Ally's first Christmas. Although she doesn't "get" Christmas yet, I think she still had fun seeing all the new sights and meeting all the new people. She was quite the ham, flashing her smile and giggling a lot. And one of her presents Christmas morning was the emergence of her first tooth!

Ally in front of the nativity scene at church.

Ben and Ally after Mass on Christmas morning.

The four great-grandchildren: Ally, Madeleine, Anthony, and Dominick.

Ally has fun with a new toy

2009-12-19T11:21:00.000-05:00

Ally is having a ton of fun with a new toy, and even throws in a couple da-da's.

Another semester finished

2009-12-16T22:18:00.001-05:00

Winter break is here! I turned in my exams this week and Ben has submitted his final grades, so we are now enjoying a bit of rest from school for the next couple weeks. We often talk about how busy each semester is and how hard we work; trying to complete assignments, study for tests, prep for class lectures, write exams, grade papers, find time to do research and write papers, etc. But as busy as it can be and as stressed out as we may get, I have to say that it feels so good when the semester ends and you know that you automatically have a long break where you don't have to do any of that stuff. The academic calendar is pretty nice after all.

Ally in a dump truck

2009-12-12T15:11:00.000-05:00

This is a dump truck that I had when I was little. My dad used to push it down the hall with me in it and I remember that it was a blast. We have passed the dump truck down to Ally, and she really enjoys being pushed in it too, as you can clearly see from the expression on her face. When we move into our new house next month, we'll have some hallway space for optimal dump truck riding. Vroom vroom!

Thanksgiving pics

2009-12-03T21:38:00.001-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving with Ben's family in Kentucky. Here are some pics from our trip.

Ben and our nephew Isaac. He just turned 6!

Ally snoozing with her uncle Paul

Ally and me petting Penny the chocolate lab

And for some pics that I pulled off my brother- and sister-in-law's blog:

Ally, Simon, and Ethan crawling on Ben

Ally checking out her brand new cousin Rachel

Ethan, Ally, and Simon. Add in Rachel, and one can only guess what kind of mischief those 4 will be getting into a year or so from now!

Ally learns 3 new skills

2009-11-17T20:40:00.000-05:00

Ally must be making a bunch of new neuronal connections because she premiered 3 new skills today.

1. Clapping her hands. I did not personally witness this, but the woman who takes care of her during the day told me that she clapped today.

2. Splashing in the bathtub.

3. Pulling up to a standing position.

And so it begins. . .

Holiday gifts

2009-11-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

Okay, with the holidays coming at us sooner than we think, I guess it is time to start our holiday shopping. Over the last couple years, Ben and I have made some of the gifts we've given rather than buying them from a store (examples: slate tile coasters, home-made banana bread, and Ben's single balancing wine bottle holder). This year, we'll probably do the same.

Now, for those of you who are reading our blog are trying to figure out what to get us for Christmas, here are some ideas.

1. A new house (just kidding, but seriously if you have a few hundred thousand dollars sitting around that you're looking to invest, there is some nice stuff for sale here in Chapel Hill).

2. Gift cards. Favorite places include Whole Foods, Target, Babies R Us, clothing stores like Old Navy and Kohls, and various restaurants.

3. Nothing. Honestly, we are a blessed little family surrounded by a great college town, great friends, good jobs, financial security, and a perfect baby girl (I can say that right now because she is sound asleep upstairs). Those are the best gifts.

Update on Ben's eye

2009-11-10T12:11:00.000-05:00

Ben's scratched cornea is healing. Most of the pain is gone, and he was able to drive into work today. Yesterday he stayed home and quickly found that it's hard to keep yourself entertained if you can't use your eyes much. So therefore, he is quite happy that this injury is healing quickly. When I told our friends Matt and Victoria about Ben's eye, they commented that their baby Elaina has also inflicted injury on both of them with her fingernails-in the form of bloody noses.

So just to warn anyone who may come into contact with Ally or any other 6-ish month old baby, you might want to wear some protective goggles and a noseguard. Actually, a helmet might also be a good idea because hair-pulling is fair game too. Actually, just wear an astronaut helmet to be safe!

Recent adventures

2009-11-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

This week has been a busy one. Ally turned 6 months old on Wednesday and had her well-baby checkup on Thursday. She weighed in a 15 lbs 2 oz, which keeps her between the 25th and 50th percentile. She has now sampled rice cereal as well as bananas. She is not a big fan of the rice cereal, and we can't really blame her because the stuff is pretty bland. However, she seems to really enjoy bananas, although more ends up on her hands and face than in her mouth. The doctor said that we should introduce one new food per week in order to control for any potential food sensitivities or allergies. So this week she will continue to eat bananas. In the coming weeks, she will be sampling sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and applesauce (what I happened to buy at the grocery store tonight).

Today we had a Pittsboro Bach Society reading. I haven't written about PBS in a while because I haven't played with them since last November. We played the Bach E major violin concerto and the Bach Double (Bach concerto for two violins in D minor). These are two pieces that I have played multiple times, although probably not since I was in middle school! Our guest soloist was Brian Reagin, the concertmaster of the NC Symphony, and I think it was one of our best concerts yet.

This morning also brought another adventure, although one that we really could have done without. Ben suffered a scratched cornea, thanks to one of Ally's thumbnails. So at 10:30am, we took a little trip to the Chapel Hill Urgent Care clinic because Ben was in a very large amount of pain and really couldn't open his eye. He's doing a little better now, although he had to cancel his classes for tomorrow because he probably won't be able to see well enough to drive out to Elon. Luckily these things heal within a few days, so hopefully he'll be good as new by mid-week.

Pictures from Halloween

2009-11-02T21:11:00.001-05:00

Ally has her first meal of rice cereal. I let her play with her own spoon, but she still insisted on trying to feed herself with the spoon I was holding.

Eating (and wearing) rice cereal.

Ally checks out the Halloween candy to be handed out to trick-or-treaters.

Ally makes a very good porch ornament next to the oversized butternut squash.

The newest Evans baby is here!

2009-10-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

Last night, Ben's brother Paul and wife Alicia delivered their new baby. Her name is Rachel Grace Evans. She joins big brothers Isaac and Ethan, several cousins on Alicia's side of the family, and cousins Simon and Ally on the Evans side of the family. There are now 5 Evans grandchildren; 3 of whom were born within a span of 6 months! Thanksgiving is going to be a blast!

Fall Favorites

2009-10-24T21:41:00.001-04:00

Here are my 10 favorite things about fall, in no particular order:

1. Fall Break. My fall break was Thursday and Friday, and it was really nice not to have to go to class. Plus, my advisor let me have those two days off from the lab so I could have some time with Ally.

2. Pumpkins. This includes pumpkins as they are, jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin lattes, etc.

3. Apple cider. Actually, I'm drinking some right now!

4. Chai.

5. Cool crisp days. It makes for excellent running weather.

6. Cozy fall fashions, such as scarves and sweaters.

7. Thanksgiving. Three reasons: excellent food, a chance to hang out with friends and family, and 3 days off from school.

8. My birthday.

9. The changing colors on the trees.

10. The smell of a wood fire burning.

What are some of your fall favorites?

Ally works on sitting

2009-10-04T16:28:00.000-04:00

Ally turned 5 months old today. Over the last month, her personality has started to come out and she is beginning to master new feats of strength, including improved rolling over (both ways), sitting up, grasping at just about everything with her reach, and raising her chest supported by her arms while lying on her tummy. Here are a few pics I took today of her sitting by herself, and a short video of her playing with a toy.

Ally also had a bad cough this week. We called the doctor's office on Wednesday morning, and they seemed to think she had croup. We kept her at home on Wednesday and Thursday so that she could get a bit better before we sent her back to daycare. Her cough has improved a lot and she seems to be back to her old self.

Fun vocabulary

2009-09-29T21:37:00.000-04:00

Here are two fun words that I have learned in my classes this semester:

From my multivariate statistics class: Kurtosis
Sounds like a disease, but it really has to do with the flatness or peakedness of a curve. Even more fun are the related terms platykurtic and leptokurtic.

From my clinical measurement/evaluation class: Schistosomiasis
The professor that teaches this class is an infectious diseases doctor, so he used this disease in one of our class examples. Actually what happened was that he asked for us to call out a disease, and someone suggested schistosomiasis, but I think they just said it because it sounded cool.

Four months old

2009-09-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

Ally had her 4-month well-baby check-up yesterday. She is 13 lbs 8.9 oz and 25.25 inches long, which puts her below the 50th percentile in weight, but approaching the 90th percentile in height. She also got her second round of vaccinations, during which she howled very loudly. However, once I picked her up and fed her, she went back to being her happy self.

For the past two nights, Ally has gone to bed shortly after 8pm. This has been nice, because Ben and I have been able to work on schoolwork after she goes to sleep. I am wondering if this is a real shift in her bedtime, or if she is just doing this for a couple days and will revert back to a later bedtime. I have to say though, Ally has really become a very good nighttime sleeper. She sleeps through the night for the vast majority of the time, and she is even taking some substantial naps during the day at daycare. (Of course I realize that as I write this I may be jinxing myself!) She is becoming more fun every day with her smiles and giggles and interest in everything going on around her.

Ally's Baptism

2009-09-08T13:21:00.000-04:00

Ally was baptized at St. Thomas More on Sunday. We were so glad to be able to share the experience with her godparents Jim, Victoria, and Matt, as well as my parents and several of our other friends from church. Afterwards, everyone headed back to our house for a fun spaghetti lunch. Here are some pics from the day.

Fr. Romen anoints Ally on the chest with holy oil

Ally getting dunked (yep, they baptize the babies naked at St. Thomas More!)

Fr. Romen anoints Ally on the head with sacred chrism

Receiving the Light of Christ

After Mass by the baptismal font

With Ally's godparents Matt, Victoria, and Jim

With most of our small group

With my parents

Ally enjoying wearing her baptismal gown my mom made

First week of school

2009-08-28T12:27:00.000-04:00

It is that time again: the start of a new school year. After being a stay-at-home mom for the summer, I am now back at school full-time. I will admit, I am glad to be back, although I do miss seeing Ally during the day. I do have a picture of her as my desktop computer background, so at least I can look at her when I want.

Ally now goes to a home daycare about 1.5 miles from our house. She is with 4 other little girls and she is the only baby. Her daycare provider is a Colombian woman, whose family is also parishoners at our church. Ally cried for a little bit the first day, but now she seems to be doing just fine. One thing's for sure, she's definitely getting to see a lot of excitement with 4 other little girls around.

Ben had planning week this week, where he got to go to a lot of faculty meetings. Right now he is dressed up in his PhD regalia, attending Fall Convocation. His classes start on Wednesday.

Grand-Nana would be proud

2009-08-16T22:18:00.000-04:00

That her great-granddaughter wore a hat to church today!

Here is Ally in an outfit that our friends Brent and Kristi (former small groupers) gave her. The dress and bloomers are really cute, but the hat is the icing on the cake, in my opinion.

Cabin trip #2

2009-08-13T11:50:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we went back to the mountains of NC to spend a weekend with our small group. It was lots of fun; the only regret is that we couldn't have stayed longer.

Standing at Looking Glass waterfall in the Pisgah National Forest

Ally sleeping during the hike

Ally REALLY asleep during the hike

The whole group

Ally, Elaina, and Rebecca